Instrument cabinet



y 1956 J. w. FORREST INSTRUMENT CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 16, 1954 y 1956 J. w. FORREST 2,757,059

INSTRUMENT CABINET Filed July 16, 1954' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 31, 1956 INSTRUMENT CABINET John W. Forrest, West Acton, Mass, assignor to Acton Laboratories, Inc., Boston, Mass.

Application July 16, 1954, Serial No. 443,799

Claims. (Cl. 312213) The present invention relates to cabinets, and more particularly to a knocked down cabinet suitable for housing instruments.

In the pastit has been customary to an apreciable extent to manufacture cabinets for precision measuring instruments out of wood, the more common wood being walnut. For certain applications wood cabinets have to be changed appreciably in order to provide adequate ventilation for the apparatus to be contained therein. It has been found that wood cabinets sometimes are subjected to temperatures which affect them in an undesired manner. It is also, of course, a problem to provide adequate storage space for empty cabinets while awaiting the instruments to fiow down the production and test lines.

It, therefore, would be desirable to provide an improved type of cabinet which would overcome some of the dis- T advantages heretofore encountered. It is particularly desired to provide a knocked down cabinet which could be stored in a relatively small space. Furthermore with a knocked down cabinet it is possible to provide for a plurality of sizes much more economically than in the instance of assembled wood or metal cabinets.

It, therefore, is an object of the present invention to provide an improved economical cabinet for housing instruments and the like.

it is a further object of the invention to provide an improved economical knocked down cabinet requiring a minimum of storage space.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved line of knocked down cabinets of various lengths H which are relatively economical to manufacture and easy to assemble.

Other and further objects of the invention subsequentially will become apparent by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying I drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a cabinet constructed in accordance with the teaching of the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end view partially in cross-section of a cabinet such as that shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top view of the cabinet;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary front view of the cabinet;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view seen in the direction of the arrows along the line 55 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view in the direction of the arrows along the line 66 of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view as seen in the direction of the arrows along the line 77 of Figure 5; and

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view as seen in the direction of the arrows along the line 8-8 of Figure 5.

Refering to Figures 1 and 2 it will be noted that there has been shown an instrument cabinet 11 having two similar end members 12, similar top and bottom members 13 and a back panel 14. Usually the front panel 15 is secured to the chassis of the apparatus to be housed within the cabinet.

Each of the end members 12 has a transverse recessed handle portion so as to provide a convenient hand grip for lifting and carrying the instrument. The end member 12, as may be seen from Figures 4 through 8, is provided with a support ledge 16 spaced inwardly from the periphery of the outer edges of the end member 12 a short distance for subsequent engagement on the exterior by the top and bottom members 13, the rear panel 14 and the front panel 15. The ledge 16 is also adapted to be engaged by the chassis 17 of an apparatus housed within the cabinet.

At the top and bottom front corners of each of the end members 12 there is provided a stud 18 having a knurled reduced diameter portion 19 inserted into a suitable recess 21 on the inner side of the member 12. Preferably the end members 12 are made of cast metal, and thus may be provided with recesses 21 which may be bored or reamed to the desired diameter so as to accept the knurled end 19 of the stud 18. Each of the studs 18 has a transverse pin 22 which is inclined inwardly toward the inside of the cabinet.

The top and bottom panels 13 are preferably provided with a central portion 23 which is louvered or perforated in order to provide ventilation. The forward longitudinal edge of the top and bottom members 13 is rolled in a semicircular configuration to form the edge 24 which exactly fits around the stud 18. Each rolled edge 24 is provided with a recess 25 for engagement by the stud 22 to preclude lateral movement of the top and bottom with respect to the end members 12. The rear longitudinal edges of the top and bottom members 13 are each bent at right angles to form the portions 26, which are so arranged as to overlap a portion of the rear panel 14 and are provided with apertures for receiving fastening screws 27' which pass through the portion 26 of the top and bottom members 13 and through the rear panel 14 into the support ledge 16 on the inside of each of the end members 12. In order to accommodate the edge adjacent the rolled edge 24 of the top and bottom members, the inner support ledge 16 adjacent the studs 18 is provided with a suitable transverse opening or slot 29, the manner in which it operates being clearly evident from the crosssectional view shown in Figure 5.

From the foregoing it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that there has been provided a cabinet structure where a plurality of end members 12 may be used for cabinets of dilferent lengths by providing diiferent length top and bottom and rear panels. In order to assemble a cabinet, it is a relatively simple matter to have the rolled edges 24 engage the bottom studs 18 and the pins 22 thereof in order to locate the end members with respect to the bottom panel 13. Thereafter the rear panel 14 may be inserted between the upturned edges 26 of the bottom panel. A top member 13 is then positioned in a manner similar to the dotted line representation at the top of Figure 2 to engage the respective studs 18. In the dotted line position the recess 25 may not be in engagement with the'stud 22, but if it is there is suflicient resiliency in the top 13 for the edge 26 to clear the rear panel 14. When the rear end of the panel 13 is moved downwardly to engage the top edge of the rear panel 14, suitable fastening screws 27 are then inserted, whereupon the assembly of the cabinet is complete. This construction provides a convenient knocked down cabinet, which is readily assembled, which can withstand wide variations of ambient temperature, and which is sufficiently rugged to meet all possible requirements for cabinets of this type.

While for the purpose of iliustrating and describing the present invention a particular embodiment has been shown in the drawings, it is to be understood that such modifications are contemplated as may be commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention set forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A knocked down all metal cabinet for instruments and the like comprising two quadrangular end members each having at their front edges adjacent the corners a cylindrical stud extending perpendicular to the plane of the end member, each stud having a transverse pin with an inwardly angularly extending portion, two similar top and bottom members each having a rolled front longitudinal edge arranged to conform to and be engaged by said stud, each rolled edge adjacent its end having a transverse recess to cooperate with the pin of said stud to latch said member in position, each top and bottom member having its other longitudinal edge bent at right angles to overlap the rear of said cabinet, and fastening means for said latter longitudinal edge.

2. A knocked down metal cabinet for instruments comprising two quadrangular end members each having inwardly extending support portions spaced from the periphery of the member, and having at their front edges adjacent the corners a cylindrical stud extending perpendicular to the plane of the end member, each stud having a transverse pin with an inwardly angularly extending portion, two similar rectangular top and bottom members each having a rolled longitudinal front edge arranged to conform to and be engaged by said stud, each rolled edge adjacent its end having a transverse recess to cooperate with the pin of said stud to latch said member in position, each top and bottom member having its other longitudinal edge bent at right angles to overlap the rear of said cabinet, and fastening means extending through said latter longitudinal edge into said inwardly extending support portions of said end members, said top and bottom members having their transverse end portions resting on said inwardly extending support portions of said end members.

3. A knocked down metal cabinet for instruments comprising two quadrangular end members provided with integral hand grips and having inwardly extending support portions spaced from the periphery, each end memher at their front corners having a cylindrical stud perpendieular to the plane of the end member, each stud having a transverse pin extending angularly and inwardly toward said cabinet, a back panel positioned against the rear support portions of said end members, two similar perforated top and bottom rectangular members each having a rolled longitudinal edge arranged to conform to and be engaged by said stud, said transverse pin of said stud engaging said top and bottom member to preclude longi- 4 tudinal movement with respect to said end members, each top and bottom member having its other longitudinal edge bent to overlap the rear panel of said cabinet, and fastening means extending through said latter longitudinal edge and said rear panel into said support portions of said end member.

4. A knocked down metal cabinet for instruments comprising two cast metal end members, a rear panel member of sheet metal and two similar perforated sheet metal top and bottom members, each end member having integrally formed transverse hand grips on its exterior, and on its interior a support ledge positioned adjacent its periphery, each end member adjacent its front edge at the top and bottom corners having a stud normal to its interior surface, said stud having a transverse pin with one end thereof protruding therefrom at an angle toward the interior of said cabinet, said top and bottom members each having its front longitudinal edge rolled to conform to and fit about said studs, each rolled edge adjacent its end having a transverse recess to cooperate with the pin of said stud to preelude longitudinal movement of the stud relative to said rolled edge.

5 A knocked down metal cabinet for instruments comprising two cast metal end members, a rectangular rear panel member of sheet metal, and two similar rectangular sheet metal top and bottom members, each end member having a transverse hand grip on its exterior, and on its interior a support ledge positioned adjacent its periphery, each end member adjacent its front edge at the top and bottom corners having a stud normal to its interior surface, said stud being located between the periphery of said end member and support ledge, said stud having a transverse pin with one end thereof protruding from said stud at an angle toward the interior of said cabinet, said top and bottom members each having its top longitudinal edge rolled to conform to and fit about said studs, each rolled edge adjacent the end having a transverse recess to cooperate with the pin of said stud to preclude longitudinal movement relative to said stud, said top and bottom members having the other longitudinal edge thereof bent to overlap said rear panel, and fastening means passing through said latter longitudinal edge, and said back panel into said support ledges of said end members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,497,453 Hazen Feb. 14, 1950 

